Tuesday, August 19, 2014

... made it through the July 2014 CA Bar Exam! May the "Luck O' the GP" be with you when your answers are assigned to happy graders!

As for me, my career path has changed yet again. A couple of months ago I was offered a position with a small firm as a Litigation Attorney, handling civil complaints for the firm's primary client. The client is a medium-size business, and I've been tasked with filing cases against its customers who have breached their contracts. I've been very busy over the past couple of months and I'm going to be much busier soon as these cases churn their way through the courts. Exciting, it is!

I'll pop in from time to time with comments and opinions about ... stuff. Mostly about the Bar Exam, and a little bit about my law practice.

The July exam is only still almost two months out. You have plenty of time to prepare but you need to be diligent. If you've received Jason's outlines but haven't opened them then you need to get busy!

One month from now you'll wish you had heeded my advice. There's nothing worse than realizing the Bar Exam is only three weeks out but you still have six weeks worth of material to cover. Trust me on this. I've been there.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

First, Jason Tolerico's latest Free Outline offer opens on May 1, 2014. Get 'em while you need 'em. Links to his site are just over there towards the top on the right side of my page --->.

Second, I am transitioning my practice from Judgment Recovery to Disabled Student Advocacy. I'm partnering up with another attorney who has a very busy practice representing students with learning disabilities. We step in when the school district fails to implement an appropriate learning program for the child. It's much more satisfying than trying to squeeze money from bad guys.

Third, the actual practice of law is much more enjoyable than trying to pass the bar exam. "What's that," you say? "You can't be serious!" Yes, folks, I'm serious. (;-)> Besides recovering money for people who have won their case, I'm handling a couple of civil matters. It's not the easiest thing I've ever done - I'm sure it would be easier if I wasn't doing it solo - but there are enough resources out there, including other friendly attorneys, to make it manageable. I'm not rich (yet!), but things are coming together.

And I still receiving the occasional email from people looking for advice on how to pass the CA bar exam. I always begin my reply by reminding them that, given my history, I might not be the best person to ask, but I am happy to relate to them the things that I did differently on the exam that I passed. I believe I've actually helped some people and that makes me feel good.

Monday, March 24, 2014

... was just yesterday, or just last week? Or does it seem like you took it months ago?

Towards the end of my 5-year ordeal I can remember normal space/time becoming warped and twisted. Time would slow down for the month of the exam, as I prepared for those three days, then it would speed up to normal again the day after it was over. It would remain normal until about a week before results were released. And when I found that I had failed yet again a weird Twilight Zone effect would descend on me which would last until the first day of July or February. It seemed odd to me (in a not-good sort of way) that I only felt normal when I was preparing for the bar exam. But those last few weeks before the exams were the only times I felt like I was in control of my destiny. As for the months between the exams and the day the results were released ... I felt like I was living in a kind of demented purgatory.

Bizarre, I know.

But that's all over now.

Speaking of it being over, your wait is almost over! Jason Tolerico will again be offering his most excellent outlines for FREE starting May 1, 2014 (But only for a limited time!)

Actually, they're not quite FREE. Sure, he's not going to charge money for them, but he is going to ask that you come back to my blog and post a comment with your opinion on them.

And when you call (or email), if you mention that you heard about his FREE OUTLINE offer from THIS BLOG they'll be DOUBLE-FREE! (Just kidding. I'm pretty sure there isn't any such thing as "DOUBLE FREE", especially not in ALL CAPS(!), but, hey, it couldn't hurt!)

Sunday, February 23, 2014

I know a lot of people suggest not studying on these last couple off days before the exam, but I could never do that. It was easier for me to study than it was to pretend that I was relaxed!

So, my recommendation for today and tomorrow is to do MBEs for about 30 minutes, review Jason's outlines (if you have them) for one of your weaker subjects for about 30 minutes, then take a break for about 30 minutes. If you do this, these last two days will fly by and you'll keep the material fresh in your head.

Also, do not stress out about memorizing the rules. The graders are not looking for perfect rule statements - they're looking for solid analysis. On my last exam I spent much less time agonizing over the rule statements and much more time thinking about the relationship between the facts and the elements of the rules.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

... the results for the July 2013 exam that went flashing by my window just now? Man, if you aren't looking for it, it just zips by without making a sound.

I hope everyone passed!

But I know that's not the case.

Down, butterflies. Down! That's better. Every time I think about the moment when I saw my results last year I get an attack of the butterflies. Trust me when I say the post-passing butterflies are much friendlier to your stomach lining than the pre-test butterflies. In fact, the pre-test butterflies were more like moths for me because they tended to eat holes in the lining of my stomach. Bah. Good riddance to those.

Monday, November 18, 2013

... for now, at least. Apparently quite a few people were impressed by them. I suspect the offer may be reinstated at some point between the February Exam and the release of results, but all I know now is that the offer for free outlines has been withdrawn. They can be purchased, of course,. but you'll have to contact Jason to get all of those details.

On another note, Dustin Saiidi's book is available for those who cannot afford a full-blown bar prep program. Dustin did not graduate near the top of his class yet he still passed the bar exam on his first attempt. In his book he tells you how he prepared for his bar exam, and truth be told it sounds a lot like the approach I finally settled on. Anyway, if you don't have the resources to spring for a full-blown bar prep program you might want to take a look at Dustin's book. A link to Dustin's book is, or soon will be, in the top right corner of this blog.

And to answer the commenter who asked my opinion about the actual practice of law now that I've earned my license, it's everything I expected it to be, and more, and less (sort of.)First, not one client has asked me how many times I took the bar exam. Not one. And my client base includes other attorneys, whom I suspect would be the persons most interested in that number (if there were any interest, which it appears there is not.) Second, it helps to have an aggressive entrepreneurial spirit if one is going to start one's legal career as a sole practitioner. Either that, or have a lot of friends in the business. I'm not very entrepreneurial, but I do have quite a few friends, and I suspect a large part of my new business is from referrals by my friends. I say this because I've received more than a few phone calls from people I've never met, and who have no reason to know of me unless someone pointed them in my direction. I am puzzled by that, but I am also very grateful. Third, it's expensive to start and maintain a sole proprietorship law firm. Not only does a sole proprietor have to pay the mortgage/utilities/etc. at home, there are all the expenses associated with being an attorney, which include office space rent, insurance, utilities, subscription fees, membership fees, association fees, and all the other typical costs of practicing law (filing fees, process service fees, investigation fees, ad nauseum.) Fourth, the many and varied types of people who want and/or need the services of an attorney, and their reasons for so wanting/needing, has surprised me. I'll try to post more on this later.

GP

About Me

I am an Attorney, licensed to practice law in the State of California (SBN: 284509)

I passed the July 2012 CA Bar Exam on my 11th attempt. I clicked on the "Check Pass List" button on November 16, 2012 at about 6:15 pm.

When I saw that my 11th attempt had been successful, it was like being doused with a bucket of cold water. Chills ran down my spine as a wave of crisp cold relief washed over me.

For the first time in almost five years I wasn't facing two or three months of frantic studying, followed by three days of high stress, then months of ignoring the 8,000 pound gorilla in the corner of the room as I waited for results to be released.

This is my second career. I spent 23+ years in Information Technology.

My interim career of studying for and taking the bar exam has come to a much anticipated, and long overdue, end.

Jason Tolerico's One-Timers

Jason Tolerico is the reason I passed the CA bar exam. He's my hero. I've posted about my experience in Jason's program here and here. I also talked about his program in comments between these two posts.

www.baressays.com

The place to go to see past bar exams, some with comments by a actual past bar exam grader, is www.BarEssays.com. I found these past graded essays to be a tremendous help in preparing for the exam that I passed.